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[Jonathan Gray] We want to identify crime and prosecute it.
And we're specially trained to do that.
(machinery noise)
I truly believe we're the best at what we do. But it is crucial that we have the public
behind us, to be our eyes and notify us when they see an environmental crime no matter
how small.
It's pretty much just a third-world garage, but he's grabbing all of his solvents and
dumping them either down the drain or . . .
[Capt. Marvin Tamez] Jonathan is stationed here in Travis County
with primary duties to Travis and all the surrounding counties in central Texas. He
works closely with his counterpart investigator with the TCEQ as well as special agents for
the USEPA.
[Jonathan Gray] Sometimes he puts it in the street . . .
[Capt. Marvin Tamez] He's been involved in cases that have resulted
in extremely large fines. And those fines came about because of his hard work and attention
to detail.
[Pamela Hamlett] I never know what Jonathan is going to bring
through the door. It could be water samples, it could be soil samples, different hazardous
wastes.
[Jonathan Gray] Hi Pamela. Got some more goodies for you.
[Pamela Hamlett] Hi Jon. What do you have?
[Jonathan Gray] Well, I got . . .
[Pamela Hamlett] He risks exposure every time he goes out into
the field and is willing to bring these hazardous things in for testing and analysis so that
he can make guilty people stop dumping and stop polluting.
[Jonathan Gray] In this day and age the law requires that
you have analytical sampling to determine what the constituent is or what the pollutant
is that is part of the element of the crime. So, our lab is absolutely the most important
element in making our case.
[Pamela Hamlett] Used motor oil, lubricating oil, non-toxic
antifreeze, there's some PAH's . . .
[Jonathan Gray] As investigators sometimes we don't have the
time to sit out in front of a gate or survivable an operation or interview 20 people to figure
out what is going on.
(helicopter noise)
It's a lot easier to make a call over here and get put on the flight schedule to do an
overflight.
[Lee Finch] Because air space is free, we can get a view
that you're not always going to be allowed to get down on the ground.
(music)
Jonathan Gray has a nose for these illegal activities and he's very productive.
[Pamela Hamlett] Jonathan is a passionate supporter of the
fish and wildlife resources in the State of Texas and he takes it personally when people
want to dump hazardous waste on anybodies habitat.